Are you ready to get going with all new tangles for 2012?
In consideration for the new tanglers joining us in recent weeks, I thought we’d start off the new year with an easy-to-do filler pattern based on a grid.
Diagonals is a tangle pattern from one of CZT® Suzanne McNeill’s early books, Zentangle 2. Each of Suzanne’s books take Zentangle® into the world of crafts and Zentangle-inspired creations. Zentangle 2 primarily focuses on ATCs, scrapbooks, sketchbooks and journals and offers 40 patterns to learn.
Suzanne illustrates the steps for drawing Diagonals here. A row or two of this simple tangle also makes a very striking border around a section. UPDATE: Early in the Summer of 2014 Suzanne McNeill’s blog was removed and all the posts and images were lost, so this link no longer works.
Her site is being reconstructed as much as possible and until it’s available again, many of her patterns like Diagonals can quite easily be figured out. Have fun challenging your Zentangle® deconstructing abilities!
Experiencing the meditative, relaxing benefits of Zentangle® is all about singular focus and slow, deliberate strokes drawing non-representational patterns. If you find yourself occasionally losing that degree of concentration when completing fills in tangles like Diagonals, you might find the tip demonstrated on Arrowheads helpful.
You can find more grid-based tangles to learn by clicking on the tag grid in the left sidebar under the heading PATTERNS BY TYPE. And check out the tag suzannem for more of Suzanne’s patterns on TanglePatterns.com.
Related Links:
- Useful information about copyright – very helpful information for new tanglers regarding fair use and selling your Zentangle-inspired creations – with thanks to new tangler Julie H. for asking about this today!
Enhance your Zentangle experience ... | |
BRAND NEW!! TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2020 Edition | |
 | The 9th Edition of my TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE. This instant-download 79-page (54 MB) interactive digital eBook contains all the tangles on the site from May 2010 through December 31, 2019. Containing almost 1,400 tangles, it's a must-have tool for using the site. Visit the STORE > E-BOOKS page and support TanglePatterns.com by getting your copy now! |
"Linda, Thank you! I was relying on too few and getting stuck after 3 years of daily working with Zentangle. This has inspired me to ‘begin again’ with renewed excitement." ~ Barbara R. | |
| See the BOOK REVIEWS page for more details on its features and view a sample page. | |
| GIFT ORDERS FOR ANOTHER PERSON: To give the TANGLE GUIDE as a gift, visit this page to place your gift order. | |
| If you're new to Zentangle® and tangling, my TanglePatterns.com BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ZENTANGLE is just what you need to get started. Also available en Français and en Español. | |
 | This is the only Zentangle book you'll ever need: the fabulous Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1. It's your CZT-in-a-book by the founders of Zentangle®! Visit the STORE tab on the top menu bar or click on the image. For more about the content and to read the rave reviews, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab. |
| "Absolutely the best Zentangle Book yet! As an accomplished artist I used to think I did not need instruction on this art form. How wrong I was! My tangling improved by leaps and bounds after reading this book. If you think you have Zentangle down then you need this book more than ever!" ~ Kris H | |
 | Another great jump-starter for new tanglers is the original Official Zentangle Kit. The Kit includes all the supplies you'll need to get started properly: Sakura Micron Pens, Zentangle Tiles, pencil, sharpener, tortillion, a booklet and an instructional DVD by co-founder Maria Thomas. Click on the image for more information about the Kit and its contents. |
January 2, 2012 | 
More like this: 
The “Diagonals” tangle is cute and very common. I thought I saw this tangle pattern before. I do have every Zentangle Book written by Suzanne McNeal. I just purchased Zentangle 6 and Zen-sational stitches for Quilting.
I have become obssessed with Tangles. I have been doing them now for about 3 months. I love doing them. I have a question. Is it alright to start the tangles in pencil? And there’s nothing wrong with not doing all the tangles, right? Oops that’s 2 questions. LOL
Hi Margie, welcome to our “magnificent obsession”! You can do whatever makes you comfortable and if you want to start out with pencil, go for it. I always practice tangles several times on scrap paper before I do them on the tiles because it usually takes me time to “get it”. And you can do as many, or as few, tangles as you want to. I do recommend starting with the official tangles first – they are the best and have infinite combinations and variations. They give you a good sense of what a real tangle is all about. And they’re so classy.